highest rate of car crime in Europe. It accounted for 25% of all UK crime. It was everywhere. There were nightly news items of young men stealing cars and joy riding around the roads, doing wheelie turns and having a great time. Something had to be done and despite repeated requests to the motor manufacturers to fit deadlocks and immobilisers at the point of manufacture, nothing much happened.


Then the Home Office published the car theft index. This ranked cars by car type against the chances of being stolen in one of three risk bands. None of the manufacturers wanted to be at the top of that list – and the Home Secretary at the time told them that the next issue of the index would name and shame the worst manufacturer. Off they went and built in car security in the factory. They had effectively been shamed into it – the risk of being at the top of the list was high for some manufacturers and the excuse ‘we didn’t know we had a problem’ had been removed.


Over the following 10 years or so, from the early 1990s car crime started to fall and is now around 70% less than it was in the late 80s, as the chart above shows. And this is not because sentences became tougher, or more thieves were caught, or cars became cheaper, but is simply because the manufacturers took their responsibilities seriously to help protect their customers against crime.


What has all this to do with the private security companies?


The approach that helped to reduce car crime has also helped to reduce other offences. As the Crime and Disorder Act recommends, it


Number of cars in thousands


1,000 1,500 2,000 2,500 3,000


500 0


to provide a service.


This approach is not restricted to the provision of services to others; it also applies to the ways in which the private security industry runs its own business. Cash carrying, manned guarding and the provision of door staff and surveillance systems might all be improved, at reduced cost, if crime problems were better understood. Crime is heavily ‘patterned’ in the way it is manifest – so we get crime hot spots for example, but we also get repeat victims.


One study showed that by eliminating all repeat bank robberies (where the same bank was robbed more than once in a year) the rate of bank robbery could be reduced by 35%. Similarly, burglary on a very high crime housing estate was reduced by 70% simply by protecting first time victims and ensuring that they were not victimised again.


Theft of and from vehicles UK: 1981 – 2008/09


Understanding the nature of offending in the area of operation can assist companies in improving their services to customers and also in providing that improved service at reduce cost. If we look at a specific example of cash in transit robberies, which rose significantly around 2007, this was caused by an increase in offending in the London area, not across the country. The preventive effort, which as it happens was extremely expensive, could, therefore, have been focussed on the problem rather than offered at great expense everywhere. The Association of Chiefs Police Officers, for example, issued guidance to all forces on how to deal with cash carriers and cash and valuables in transit losses, despite the fact that the vast majority of forces did not have a problem. It compares with ACPO providing guidance to the Met on how to deal with sheep stealing because it is a major issue in Dyfed Powys! They wouldn’t do it.


Theft of vehicles


Theft from vehicles


1981 1995


2001/ 02


2004/ 05


2006/ 07


begins with analysis of the crime data and a thorough understanding of the offence problem. But it is likely to fall into disuse not because it has failed as a policy but because the necessary skills to deliver it are no longer likely to be available to the police or local agencies. The cuts begin with civilian staff and many of these are analysts – the very people who can analyse the data and provide suggestions for prevention. There is a growing gap that could be filled; and in many countries overseas the expertise did not exist in the first place but there is a desire to develop the approach, so another opportunity


© CI TY S ECURI TY MAGAZ INE – AUTUMN 2013


2008/ 09


So understanding the nature of the problem in some detail, and in particular where it is and how it manifests itself, can help to tailor responses to the particular problem, focus the resources and assess the effect, which can then be modified if it is ineffective. It is common


sense – but, sadly, common sense is not that common.


Gloria Laycock, OBE Professor of Crime Science University College London


www.ucl.ac.uk/jdi


Securing Iconic Venues, cont. from page 25


necessarily have the ability to operate in an event environment, and vice versa. Effective security provision requires a range of individuals, with different skills according to each role. If it’s your company’s intention to bring in your manned guarding service provider for your corporate event it is worth checking that they have the correct skill set and training to enhance the visitor experience for your clients. One size does not fit all.


Integration is key


The key to successful security implementation is total integration with your client’s business needs. The security plan must be complementary to the overall business strategy and operation. It has to be agreed and signed off at the highest level and, more importantly, adhered to. Increased security is more accepted in both working and social life. In the workplace, it is imperative that a security culture exists and a programme of instruction / information is delivered. This can be as simple as induction sessions, information on notice boards, lunch and learn sessions or intranet articles. A good starting point is to make everyone understand that they have a responsibility to, at the very least, report anything untoward.


CSR


The permanent security team at Wembley Stadium plays a crucial role in one of the venue’s key strategies: reducing its carbon footprint. ‘Green patrols’ are part of the team’s ethos, with each officer trained to spot and turn off unused equipment and lights. This has assisted the Stadium in its recent achievement of attaining 3 Star Industry Green certification, the largest venue to ever receive the award.


Sharing Information


We’ve learnt over the last decade that one of the most effective ways of combating all crime, from terrorism to petty theft, is by sharing information with appropriate organisations. While you may not be expecting 90,000 people to turn up to your next event or meeting, there are plenty of ways in which the processes we use at Wembley Stadium can help other businesses to greet their guests in a professional, dependable, effective and welcoming manner, whilst most importantly of all, keeping our iconic buildings safe.


Patrick Carr Managing Director Integrated Security Consultants Ltd www.iscltd.net


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